Dark Incarnate - Chapter6 Book1

Dark Incarnate 

By Mr. Black 

Chapter 6

Full Steam Ahead

Billy was the first to up Saturday morning.  He didn't dare wake the girls.  It was a quarter past six and the sun wasn't over the ridge yet, but the blue morning light was undeniable.  He stumbled into the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee.  He really had to pee too.  Rather than chance waking the girls he stepped out onto the porch and into the sheltered part of the yard and relieved himself.  It was bit chilly out, the morning dew mild fog made the air feel thick and humid even through the chill.  A crow called in a distant tree and gave him a jump.  As he relaxed and zipped his pants down when his eyes focused on the cat carrier.  It sat quietly covered and weighted like some botched magicians trick.

Quietly, Billy tried to sneak up on the creature and peek inside.  His damp feet left wet tracks on the porch as he crossed.  Slowly he worked up enough courage to look inside.  Gingerly lifting a corner of the damp blanket, he was confused to see white silk lining the gate and bars.  Taking the whole blanket off he found the creature had made a cocoon overnight.  Kelly would be excited to see this.  The trouble from last night had at least gotten results.

He carried it back in and put the carrier on the kitchen table and got some coffee.  He sat in the quiet sipping the coffee and tried collect his thoughts.  Kelly had the computer in her room so he couldn't research anything.  He went to his pack and pulled a notebook and started taking down chronological events with date and time.  Jotting down the events made him feel scientific.  He would have to consult the girls to see what all had happened before he came into the picture to fill in the blanks in the timeline.  What would be the next step?  Log the past and results of the cocoon, but what other experiments could they do?  The more he thought of it the more he came to the same conclusion.  This experiment alone told them next to nothing, they would need more.  More experiments, more cages, more drawings, more of everything.  A big smile crept across his face.  He really wanted to use Kelly's computer.  Billy started on a new list of things to do. 

The sun rose higher above the treetops baking the fog away and peering into the bedroom onto the spooning girls.  Slowly Candace woke first and turned to face Kelly.  She was delighted to find Kelly had shed her clothes and slept in nothing but her undies.  Carefully she nuzzled Kelly's neck and shoulder carefully rolling her over onto her back.  She straddled Kelly just like in the field and bent to kiss her awake.  Kelly woke wide eyed and confused for a second, then mildly annoyed she played along and pushed Candace off.  Candace went for the restroom while Kelly searched for something to wear.  All of her pajamas were dirty, most needing a serious washing, and she had no fresh panties to wear either.  A few cleans ones were scattered with her socks but they were too small and would drive her crazy if she tried to wear them.  After a quiet curse and a personal promise to do laundry today, she slipped on some white shorts and a simple t-shirt and headed down stairs. 

When she finished the steps there was an awkward moment of silence when she unwittingly surprised Billy.  He was hunched over a pad scribbling like mad.  Both of them remembered what happened but it felt distant and the morning so new and fresh.

"Morning," Kelly said and went for the coffee.

"Oh!  Hey."  Billy couldn't help but stare.  She was so beautiful.  The white shorts made her thin pale legs look like porcelain, silky smooth and without blemish.   "Did you see the cocoon?"

"What?" in the wake of the awful events of last night Kelly actually forgot about the cat carrier.

"Look!  It must be more like a caterpillar than a grub."  He felt pretty sure grub worms didn't build cocoons, but that was one of the things he wanted to look up.  Kelly eyed the cage on the floor next to the table.  "I've been up for a while, and I've had time to think."  His eyes were wild and on fire and it scared Kelly a bit.

"Uh, huh," Kelly poured the coffee keeping one eye on the cage.

"First I think we are going to need more space, and second we need to go shopping..."  Billy saw Candace reach the bottom of the stairs and just stopped speaking.

"What are you going on about now Billy?"  Candace had changed.  It was apparent she had planned on spending time with Kelly and Kelly only.  She had packed 'girls only' and specifically to seduce Kelly.  With a swish of a pleated carmine skirt she walked into the kitchen.  Kelly saw her and blushed crimson.  Her pale complexion and dimples lit up like jolly ol’ Saint Nick.  Billy filled Candace in on the basics of the experiment and the results, omitting a few specific details as usual.  Kelly was too embarrassed to say much more than a word or two in agreement. 

"So, I think we need more cages for more experiments," Billy continued.  "We may not know how to control this... ability yet, but we can start to learn its affects and effects."

Candace looked between the two and shared Kelly's skepticism of his intensity, "Wow, affects and effects, good one Billy.  Now if we can just teach you to how to use their, there, and they're you'll be ready to take on the world!"

Kelly giggled and finally spoke up, "No way, Billy!  You have no idea what you’re talking about, and YOU have never been attacked by one of these things.  It's way too dangerous.  Who knows what kind of monster is waiting inside that cocoon!  How can you know whatever is in there wont burst out of that flimsy thing or slip though the bars?"

"I know it's a scary road, but if you insist on not telling a grown-up there is no other option."  Disagreeing with Kelly made him feel nervous but he had to convince her.  "We can't learn how or why this is happening by pretending it's not real, but maybe if we try we might get some answers."

"No, I won’t go along with this, it's that simple.  I have to bring these creatures to life by drawing them and I'm just not going to draw or paint anymore.  I'm done."

"For the rest of your life?"  Candace said and looked at Kelly whose angry stare just might kill her.  

"Yes, I don't care!  It's just too dangerous, think about what happened yesterday!"

"I feel fine today, so it's not THAT dangerous.  The things have done nothing to really hurt us.  And if we take proper precautions..."  Kelly just stared back and shook her head in protest.

"I was also wondering, I know you told me not to ask too many questions but I need to fill in a timeline of events and you guys still haven't told me much about..."  Both girls glared at him and he stopped and dropped his head in defeat.

"Look Kelly, I know this is scary but if you want to avoid the loony bin or being carted off to some secret government lab I suggest you reconsider.  You know how much I don't want to agree with Billy, but I think we should consider it.  Aren't you the one who said he could help?"

"Every time I've said 'I feel it's a bad idea' something bad happens..."

"But each hard lesson we learn makes us stronger.  I mean, if we are going to use Billy then let's use him.”  Billy nodded in agreement it sounded like an insult but he was glad to agree with Candace for a change.  “They don't even want to attack him, so make him do all the work."  Candace talked as if Billy wasn’t in the room and never dropped eye contact with Kelly, who let out a long sigh signaling defeat.  "So, continue Billy."

"Well, first I want to use the computer to check a few things.  But seeing this one in a cocoon begs the question what is it changing to?  The next big question is, do other creatures change and react the same to, uh... semen as this one."

Kelly shuffled her feet, "You said something about going shopping before?"

"Right, I want to make a make-shift laboratory where we can safely experiment and observe.  We need more and better cages and I want a good safe room to set it all up in.  I think your art studio would be a great place, it's open and pretty empty except for the paintings, which we can move down here."

"I have a better idea; I'll get my aunt to run them over to the exhibit.  They've been hounding me for some art since the accident."

"So you agree?"  Candace asked.

Kelly didn't answer with anything other than a heavy sigh.  Silence was acceptance.  The rest of the morning they spent planning.  Candace and Kelly worked on logistics of where and how while Billy worked on the computer learning the what.  Kelly called her aunt to drive them around.  They went shopping for "a group project" which would be due at school before the end of the grade.  Candace bought everything with her dad's credit card and Billy read from his notepad like a Jewish bookie.  At first shopping was slow because Kelly and Billy didn't want to spend Candace's money, but after she bought a small laptop and webcam just for the lab, things changed.

By that afternoon the studio would be transformed into an empty wildlife refuge.  They all agreed fish tanks with a tough locking lizard lids would be perfect.  They got three fish tanks, a couple of bird cages, and one large dog cage (just in case) which had to be assembled later.  Billy also got stuff that didn't make much sense like random vitamin supplements, rolls of plastic, double sided sticky tape, velcro, rubber gloves, rubbing alcohol, etc.  He kept assuring the girls it would all make sense later.  Once back at the apartment, Billy got to work on the room while Candace called about a fifty gallon fish tank and stand which had to be delivered and set up.  The stuff went up to the room and the paintings were taken off by Kelly's Aunt, who never questioned anything. 

Billy asked more questions then she wanted to hear so Kelly told him to use and do whatever he wanted.  He took the closet door from the studio/bedroom off the hinges and used the plastic sheeting, tape and velcro to make an opaque plastic velcro door, which he explained would be "smell proof" if the need arose.  The fish tanks were stacked on shelves beside the big fifty gallon tank, which had been delivered from the “Iwanna” sale papers.  The bird cages and the five by seven dog cage fit against the opposite wall.  They also took a side table from the living room and a two kitchen chairs and Kelly's personal rolly chair (though it didn't roll much on the carpet) and made a small desk island for the new laboratory.

As it grew dark outside they sat on the soft carpet floor instead of the chairs.  "Wow, this looks amazing, I didn't think we could actually do it."  Candace said as she laid back.

Billy was still taking the lids for the tanks out of the plastic, "I think we should fill this one with water and try a fish."  He fumbled with the twenty tank's lid which was alot weaker than it looked.

Kelly sat staring at the huge five by five dog cage, "You guys are completely nuts."

"I only suggested we get that, just in case." Candace didn't move from the floor.   Kelly rolled her eyes and went downstairs to get a jug, and began carting water into the twenty tank.

Billy had already brought the cat carrier in and sat it on the small table.  The carrier was two pieces that snapped together with clamps.  He tried to pull the two parts apart but the cocoon's web was incredibly strong.  He used a knife and started cutting at the web until it was free.  They were all tense while he worked.  He held it out with both hands like a hot potato.  The cocoon was over a foot long and half as thick.  He walked it over and set it down in the plain glass bottom of the fifty gallon tank.  They chose this tank because it had been retrofitted with a thick wire gate lid with two hinges for locks.

"What do you think the other people kept in this thing?" he said as he closed the lid and slide the pen in securing the latches.

"Not what we are, that's for sure!"  Candace finally stood up and peered inside.  "But he mentioned something about raising alligators."  She pulled the small table over and set it up near the tank with the webcam recording.

"Wow... alligators, impressive."  Billy took the carrier and stored it inside the almost air tight closet enclosure.  "So, you’re up Kelly.  I think we need to add a few creatures to the empty tanks."

Kelly was pouring the last of the water into the tank, "I'll admit you've got me curious."  After the experience with the door she drew for Candace, the possibilities were endless.  Blinking her eyes a real monstrosity flashed and shook it away with a chill.  Can we start with a fish?"  Water could be a weakness of these creatures.  She shivered remembering the first attack; when she pulled the thing out of Candace the charcoal was smearing and running.  They all agreed, why the heck not, and Kelly went to get her sketch book.

She created a beautiful simple goldfish.  She meant for the eyes to look scared but instead they looked sinister and mean.  The girls were used to seeing it, but watching the fish come to life was still amazing to Billy.  At first it just flopped on the page but they quickly dropped it into the tank.  The lines began to fade and soon it was just a white fish shaped cutout which also began to fade and smear.  First around the edges, the fins began to disappear like the water was sand-paper and rubbed them off.  Soon it was nothing but a white spear darting though the water until it vanished.  The water had taken on a milky color.

"Guess they don't do so well in water."  Candace whispered.

Kelly leaned forward, "Don't touch it, just close the lid and wait for a while.  Maybe we should put some of the... catalyst in there?"  It was the first time she used that word but everyone knew immediately and looked at Billy.

"Don't look at me like that, it makes me nervous.  Let's just give it some time."

"Awww does the little guy have stage fright?"  Candace loved to harass Billy every chance she got.

"Come on you two."  We'll go to bed after we're done, just hold it together.  Kelly rolled her eyes, of all the people...

"What about this?"  Billy held up the little garden sign she drew in class, still clear it read: Big Boy Beans.  How did the sign come off the page exactly?  Only living things came alive because they were alive.  This wasn't an exact science.  Yet.  Without a word Kelly began drawing a tiny bean seed with a short leafy sprout.

Billy was in awe as usual, "With any luck we’ll change the world."

Kelly didn’t miss a beat, "With any luck we’ll survive!"

"Go get a handful of dirt, I want to see what this grows up to be."  Candace took the paper and dropped the little seed in the big open glass tank.  Billy came running up the stairs with a small bit of dirt and they planted the seed with the white shoot sticking up and snapped the lid down.

The three stood peering into the glass of the different tanks.  The bean seed seemed as dead as the sign in Billy's pocket, the water tank was just milky and empty.  Since they had a grub in stage two, they all agreed on a worm. 

Kelly got her book and began working again.  Without drawing any background the sketch came to life pretty fast, so to speak.  Billy held the paper above the tank and dropped in an albino earth worm.  It wiggled and blindly explored the confines at the bottom of the tank.  Much as they had expected.

"Heh good one, what the heck can an earthworm do?"  Billy let out a retarded laugh and the girls looked at him funny.

"Now what?" Candace put her hands on her hips impatiently looking at Billy again.

"I think we should wait and see what happens.  I still think this is a bad idea and don't want to rush into it too fast."  Kelly was always the cautious one and didn’t want to get carried away.  A room full of monsters was bad enough without throwing super food at them.

"It seems safe enough.  I think we need to move to the next stage."  Candace let out a long sigh and then both girls looked at Billy who was in his own world looking at the cocoon.  Kelly wasn’t too worried; she knew what Billy’s response would be.  But after playing with the grub for hours last night maybe they did need move on.  What they saw is pretty much what they would find if they left it for a few hours or over night.

"Billy can you, uh... ya know do your thing in these?" 

"Whoa, it doesn't work like that."

"Don't start that crap with me Billy," Kelly glared at him.

"No I mean, imagine a tank of gas, I'm pretty well spent and there is no way I could do it three times in a row."  Both girls sighed like he was intentionally full of crap.  "Seriously go look it up, if you don't believe me."

"So what the heck are we suppose to do now?  Can you just try?"

"I guess... just go downstairs and I'll try..."  The girls turned to leave the room.

Kelly turned as Billy stammered on, "Wait, do you have a cup or something?"  Candace turned and wrinkled her nose disgusted and quickly left with Kelly right behind.  

Candace jumped on the couch and started watching TV, while Kelly went into the kitchen and got a coffee mug.  She looked into the empty cup and remember the explosion from the night before. 

"Are you really going to take that to him?  I mean you might have to drink out of that one day!"

"Can you just try to be a little nicer, we do kind of need him considering."

"Whatever, just be sure he washes that out with sandpaper and bleach when he's done."

She went up with the mug.  Knocking didn't even occur to her.  It was her studio.  She opened the door to find Billy on the computer looking at porn.  "What the hell are you doing?"  The intrusion scared Billy to death and he nearly fell out of the chair trying to zip his pants back up.  It didn't matter if she knew what he was doing or not, guys shouldn't be disturbed sometimes.

"I told you!  I can't just point at it and say a magic spell!"

"Here's your cup."

"I don't guess you could help me, it's really creepy in here."  She just handed him the cup and turned slamming the door behind to join Candace on the couch.

Billy came out a few minutes later and stood at the top of the stairs holding the cup.  "Ok, what should I do with it?"

"You were supposed to put it in the tanks, dummy!"  Candace said

"Which one?"

"Jesus Billy, put a little in each one.  Am I going to have to chew your food for you too?" She relished the chance to scold him.

"But, I don't think I can do that."

Kelly looked over at Candace, and Candace just shook her head.  "Billy you have to figure this stuff out for yourself or else we're likely to kill you, ok?"  Kelly got up and headed up stairs where Billy had already retreaded back to the lab.

He stood near the tank and held out the cup, "There's not enough see."

Kelly took the cup and looked inside.  A tiny puddle of clear whitish fluid that didn't even cover the bottom ran to one side as she turned it.  She thought of the thick strands that clung to her face and hair like elmer's glue the night before.  "This is bullshit Billy!"

"No, seriously I need a day or two, so you know, my body can make more!  I'm not faking I promise!"

"So what the heck are we gonna do?"

"I guess we'll have to wait, less you have some other source," Billy rolled his eyes.

Kelly still held the cup and looked down and tried to swirl the semen around it was runny and mostly clear.  "Just wash this out, and I suppose we'll wait on you.  Hey, after you wash that get the frozen pizza out and preheat the oven.  I am going to have a talk with Candace.  Oh, and wash your hands for heavens sake." 

In an hour all three were zoned out on the couch and chairs eating pizza and trying not to think about the monsters upstairs.  It didn't take long before Candace had both the remote and Kelly tightly in her grasp. 

Things had changed between the two of them; Candace felt it just as Kelly understood it, or rather didn't understand.  And even though they went off to bed together, the night was no comfort.  Billy had no trouble sleeping, he felt like the luckiest kid in the world.

As usual he got up before the girls, but much later than the day before.  It was nearly noon when he started coffee and checked the lab.  Nothing was out of place but he wanted to get more done today.  Maybe even find an answer.  They had to come up with something before art class Monday morning.  He got the girls up.  They sent him into the lab to do his thing, but got similar results. 

Kelly called Candace out to the back porch.  It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and lounging in the patio furniture she couldn't wait anymore and had to talk to Candace.

"I told you he was useless.  We need to just send him home and not invite him back."  Candace really had a forked tongue and acid spit when she wanted.

"That's not entirely true, if it wasn't for Billy we wouldn't know about the catalyst."

"Yeah, because that pervert was jacking off in your bedroom."

"Look, either way, we have to wait on him to continue."

"Not really, he's not the only male with cum, and the good thing is most are more than happy to give it to you." Candace was furious, and the words even hurt Kelly.

"Umm, Candace that's horrible we can’t just go around with a mason jar taking a collection!"

"Maybe not, but I'll bet I could find a replacement for our 'need' of Billy."

"And just exactly who would that be?"

"That's my secret!" Candace said smiling like it was a joke.  Which it was to her, but Kelly's face darkened.

"Well you bring up a good point.  I've been meaning to ask you something.  All the other stuff you said about me and you being together did you really mean all of that?"

"Yes, of course..." her face got serious at the question that felt oddly like an accusation.

"You’re sure there's nobody else?" Kelly accused.

"No, no-ooo, you’re taking that all wrong."

"Look, I don't like being lied to.  The first day you got attacked the thing was tiny then when I tried to pull it out it was HUGE almost as big as my arm!  I didn't think anything of it then because how the hell was I suppose to know anything.  But we do know that those creatures only grow when they consume the catalyst."

Candace blushed deep red, "This is a misunderstanding, trust me you have nothing to worry about."

"And we know what the catalyst is, don't we Candace?"

"I told you I don't like men!  You don't understand" Candace was on the verge of tears.

Kelly was furious that her supposed girlfriend would just lie to her face, "Then tell me how semen got INSIDE you so that thing could have lunch!"

Candace's eyes had long since welled up with tears and she was sobbing something unintelligible.  Kelly leaned in and put an arm around her and tried to understand.  She kept saying something over and over... it was her dad?  Candace’s father!  The guy she talked to on the phone? 

Kelly felt horrible, like the meanest person in the world, she took Candace in her arms and they held each other in the warm sunlight.   

This Is a Work of Fiction

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.